1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved garment storage bag for protecting clothing hanging from a closet rod within a wardrobe closet.
2. Description of the Prior Art
For many years flexible walled hanging garment bags have been used to store clothing in closets. Such garment bags protect clothing from an accumulation of dust and minimize wrinkling of the clothing. The bags also protect the clothing stored therein from moths and other insects. The release of naphthalene fumes by moth balls within the confined enclosure of a garment bag greatly improves the effectiveness of the garment bags in protecting clothing from moths.
Most flexible walled garment bags are constructed of either fabric or vinyl plastic. Typically, such garment bags are of an elongated, rectangular configuration and employ a stiff internal wire frame to hole the top of the garment bag in a rectangular configuration. The wire frame within the garment bag provides a longitudinally extending rack from which clothes on hangers can be hung. A plurality of longitudinally spaced wire hooks on the wire frame extend up through small openings in the top of the bag and are hung on the closet rod that runs longitudinally between opposite end walls of a closet.
Conventional soft sided garment storage bags of the type described usually hang suspended beneath a closet rod by means of hooks on the wire frame that project upwardly from the bag. In one prior art device of a different design, openings were provided in the end walls of a garment bag so as to pass through the upper portion of the garment bag. However, the device still employed a rigid wire frame.
One significant and recurring problem that occurs with conventional flexible hanging garment bags is that the rigid wire frame within the bag frequently makes holes in the vinyl or fabric enclosing walls of the bag. When garments are placed into or removed from the hanging bag the fabric or plastic covering of the bag sometimes is pulled against the inflexible rigid corners of the frame. As a result, the flexible covering can become torn. This reduces the effectiveness of the garment bag as a shield against dust and moths and also detracts from the appearance of the hanging bag.
Another significant disadvantage of employing a rigid frame within a fabric or plastic bag is that the cost of materials and fabrication is increased in such a composite assembled structure. The increased cost of producing a conventional flexible garment bag which employs a rigid internal frame reduces the extent to which consumers are willing to protect their garments from dust, wrinkles and moths.